Skijoring–A Dog-Friendly Adventure in the Snow!
Skijoring is a winter sport many people have never heard of. The term skijoring is derived from the Norwegian word “skikjøring,” or ski driving, and involves a skier being pulled by either a horse, a motor vehicle, or – even more easily, safer and accessible – a dog! My young dog, Cache, and I are in our third winter taking part in this exciting sport. We have trained and raced all over Maine. When I scope out places to train, I typically look for areas with groomed trails that allow on-leash dogs.
Hidden Valley Nature Center (HVNC) in Jefferson, ME fit this description and has been on my radar for a while – and I finally had the chance to check it out. My companion, who joined me, had never XC skied before and was excited to give it a try (but not attached to a dog)! HVNC has many miles of groomed trails for beginners and experts alike, so it was a good place to introduce her.
Skijoring With Your Pup–A Few Things to Know to Get You Started
To begin with, skijoring with a dog requires a XC ski set-up consisting of poles, boots, and skis with no metal edges. I recommend starting with classic touring XC skis which will provide you with the best chance of not ending up in a snowbank. Skate skis are popular with skijorers who want to race and go fast, but it’s not recommended for your first time out. If you want to try XC skiing without buying, HVNC has extremely affordable rentals available at their gatehouse, along with fat tire bikes and snowshoes.
Once you have your ski set-up and are a fairly confident skier (sans dog), you’ll want to look into acquiring a skijoring kit. A skijor kit consists of a hip belt with a quick release strap, a towline with a bungee, and a harness for your dog that’s specifically made to encourage pulling. Ruffwear and Nonstop Dogwear have great kits to choose from if you want to purchase new.
When you are ready to try skijoring with your dog, keep the sessions short and fun. It can be very helpful to ski with other skijorers so your dog can chase the other teams and learn from them. If you want to connect with other skijorers, New England Recreational and Dryland Sledding (NERDS) and New England Sled Dog Club have very active Facebook pages that facilitate meetups, clinics, and races all over the region. As you gain confidence and duration in your sessions, you can start using cues to teach your dog to go left (“haw”), right (“gee”), slow down (“woah”), or speed up (“hike”). It takes a lot of practice and time, but it’s a fast-paced sport that creates an amazing bond between you and your dog. It’s the most fun you can have on skis!
Our Day of Fun Begins
Our visit to HVNC was on a beautiful, crisp day with a bluebird sky above. We walked the short distance from the parking lot to the newly-built timber frame gatehouse. Tripp, the gatehouse attendant and the Director of HVNC, chatted with us for a while, fitted my companion with her rental equipment, gave us a trail map and pointed out a few recommended routes along its many miles of trails.
The first order of business was strapping on my skate skis and skijoring with Cache around The Barn, which is located a short distance down the trail. The trail was well-groomed, well-marked, wide, and relatively flat with no sharp or blind turns, which makes it a great place for beginner skiers and skijorers to test out their ski legs – especially if there are other dogs, skiers, or bikers present.
After many laps of Cache running at full-speed and having the time of his life, he was sufficiently tired, so I took him back to the car to give him water and a treat, and some much needed rest. I traded out my skijoring gear for my classic touring skis, and meandered with my companion out to Little Dyer Pond. The trail started off easy, with just a couple of hills popping up as we got closer to the pond. After passing Pond Cabin, we turned left, bringing us to Slick Rock trail that looped us back to where we started. It was a great 3+ mile route with beautiful scenery. There were a few challenging hills, but we just took it slow and enjoyed the trek.
On to Newcastle and Damariscotta
The exertion and fresh air worked up our appetites, so we returned the rented skis, loaded up the car, and headed to Damariscotta to King Eider’s Pub. Along the way, on ME-194 in Newcastle, we giggled at the famous sign that was the basis for a Maine Reality TV show about 10 years ago – similar to Duck Dynasty.
We also walked around the peaceful grounds of St. Patrick’s Church which was built in 1807 and is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic church building in New England and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Once we got to King Eider’s Pub, we perused both the curated draft list that included delicious craft and specialty beers, and the whiskey menu dedicated to over 150 varieties of top-shelf scotch, Irish whiskey and bourbons. We munched on crab cakes, chicken wings and burrata cheese – just what we needed after our skiing adventure. Before our pints were empty and our bellies were full, we were already scoping out where next to XC ski and skijor in Maine’s MidCoast Region.
Elizabeth Mycock and her dog, Cache, hail from the Lakes Region of Maine and are avid participants in pretty much all dog-involved races including skijoring, canicross, and scooterjoring.
